only five feet tall,
about the height
of my mother,
with those short legs,
Van Dyke beard,
thick lips,
pince-nez, his
hat and brushes
and palette. (I
wonder if the
short guy who
always walks down
Storer Street
has the same con-
dition, pycnodysostosis,
say that three times
fast?) how he loved
the whores, the night
life, their acceptance,
everyone having
a good time until
it killed them. but
mostly of how he
painted a portrait
of Van Gogh and
challenged de Groux,
who had put the
Dutchman down, to
a duel backed up
by Signac. de Groux
backed down. takes
one to know
one. outsiders,
I mean. and
courage.